Beverly Hills : Council Acts on Cable TV
Responding to a series of increases in cable TV fees, the City Council has asked the federal government to block “anti-competitive corporate behavior in the cable television industry.”
The unanimous vote came after Century Cable Inc. announced a price increase for basic services to $19 a month, effective Sept. 1.
Coming after an increase from $10 to $12 on Jan. 1, 1988, and again to $16.50 in October of last year, that amounts to a 90% increase since the beginning of 1988, city officials said.
The resolution will be sent to California’s two senators and to Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum (D-Ohio), who is chairing hearings on the cable TV industry.
Bill Rosendahl, vice president of Century Communications Corp., defended the increase by saying subscribers in neighboring communities also pay basic fees of about $19 a month.
He also said any profits will be plowed back into Beverly Hills, where the company is replacing its 20-year-old system of aerial and underground cables.
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